1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data encoding and transmission techniques for use in telecommunications equipment. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved encoding and decoding for substantially reducing data error multiplication in transmission and for enabling data transmission without restriction on the quantity and sequence of logic "ones" and "zeros," such that substantially all of the information carrying capability of a communication channel can be effectively utilized.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) in its implementation in the North American digital telecommunications transmission network requires a full or unconstrained clear channel capability for 64-kilobit per second (Kb/sec) communication channels. The encoding technique known as Zero-Byte Time Slot Interchange (ZBTSI) is a well known technique for providing clear channel capability, also known as bit-sequence independence over DS1 transmission carrier aacilities within the North American telephone network. At present, the North American telephone network limits the number of consecutive logic "zeros" that can be transmitted because the existing bipolar line code does not transmit any pulses for a logic "zero." As a result, the transmission of long strings of logic "zeros" can cause telecommunications line haul equipment such as multiplexers and protection switches to lose timing accuracy or clock recovery altogether.
As is well known, a single PCM telecommunications channel, known as a "DSO" channel, operates at 64 kilobits per second (Kb/sec) in each direttion of transmission to transmit and receive 8,000 8-bit samples per second of a desired telecommunication, whether voice or data. According to the Bell standard, individual two-way channels are multiplexed into higher speed channels for long distance transmission. As a particular example, 24 8-bit samples, one from each DSO channel, are arranged serially in a single transmission frame together with a single framing bit to form a 193-bit frame.
Transmission of successive 193-bit frames at a rate of 8,000 frames per second determines the bit rate of 1.544 Mb/sec. Set forth in the following table are some of the Bell standard digital transmission lines or hierarchical levels with their associated transmission rates and numbers of channels:
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Number of Transmission Line Voice Channels Transmission Rate ______________________________________ DSO 1 64 Kb/sec. DS1 24 Approx. 1.5 Mb/sec. DS1C 48 Approx. 3 Mb/sec. DS2 96 Approx. 6 Mb/sec. DS3 672 Approx. 45 Mb/sec. ______________________________________
The standard for digital carrier multiplexers operating to multiplex digital DS1, DS1C and DS2 T carrier transmission lines into a DS3 transmission line is set forth and discussed in the Bell System Transmission Engineering Technical Reference entitled "Digital Multiplexers, Requirements and Objectives" by the Director, Exchange Systems Design, AT&T (July, 1982). Digital multiplexers which are connected into the Bell System pulse code modulated T carrier telecommunications network must conform with this standard.
The present North American digital network cannot directly accommodate clear channel capability because of the minimum pulse density restrictions for 1.544 Mb/s DS1 signals and 3.152 Mb/s DS1C signals. The system design convention for T1-type line repeaters requires an average of at least one pulse in eight pulse positions and no more than 15 pulse positions without a pulse. The clock recovery circuit of these repeaters and the receive section of channel banks and other source/sink devices will lose timing accuracy, or timing altogether, in the presence of low logic "ones" density or long strings of logic "zeros." T1C-type repeaters have a similar restriction of at least a 1/8 pulse density over any 150 consecutive pulse positions.
To satisfy the clock recovery requirements of repeaters and source/sink devices, several design techniques are used to guarantee that devices originating DS1 and DS1C signals do not exceed the aforementioned pulse density constraints. In order to properly encode the highest analog frequency of a voice channel, the sampling rate has been established at 8000 samples per second. This sampling rate is also the frame rate for the DS1 signal. Each sample is encoded into an eight-bit word, which permits the dynamic range of the human voice to be mapped over 256 discrete steps in amplitude. With 8000 samples are per second times 8 bits per sample, the result is 64 Kb/s for each of the individual DSO channels. It is apparent that only the all-zero byte need be restricted, which would offer the ratio 255/256 efficiency, or 99.6 percent of the 64 kb/s channel, as unconstrained information bits for channel users. Unfortunately, existing source/sink devices are not nearly this efficient.
Analog voice signals with associated signaling are coded into the 64 Kb/s channels using a combination of robbed-bit signaling and zero code suppression to guarantee the presence of at least one logic "one" in each byte. For digital data channels, a different technique is employed to ensure that the proper "ones" density is maintained. During transmission of customer digital data, a designated control bit is forced to a logic "one" on a full-time basis. Since the sampling rate remains at 8000 samples per second and there are now only 7 bits per sample available to the channel users, the effective unconstrained information rate to the channel user reduces to 56 Kb/s.
All of the source/sink designs which do not provide for clear channel capability employ at least one of the aforementioned techniques, which reduce the available information bits in the 64 Kb/s channels.
This includes virtually all source/sink devices currently in use in the North American telecommunications network. With the advent of ISDN, some scheme of restoring user access to the full 64 Kb/s channel without restriction on the quantity and sequence of ones and zeros is required. The same requirement exists for all remaining ISDN primary-rate interfaces. The provisioning of clear channel capability requires that new source/sink devices such as PCM terminals allow unconstrained primary-rate digital signals to enter and leave the network intact, and also continue to maintain the minimum pulse density requirements toward line-haul elements. Line-haul elements include repeaters, multiplexers, and automatic protection switches. To this extent, the North American network is not operating with clear channel capability with any of the known prior art techniques currently operational. The clear channel capability function is actually a synthesized condition, converting the clear channel signal to a form which can be transported by the line-haul network elements, then back to the original signal at the far-end source/sink device.
ZBTSI is a known format which allows continued use of a bipolar line code, i.e., an AMI line code, but which does not require any changes to existing telecommunications line haul equipment or to the operation, administration, maintenance and provisioning procedures associated therewith. The first ZBTSI implementation was introduced in 1983 for use in point-to-point nonswitched connections between customer premises equipment locations.
The ZBTSI algorithm operates on contiguous 8-bit channels which correspond in location to the DSO channels and are referred to here as octets. Each octet is examined in conjunction with the two octets that are adjacent to it. If an octet contains eight logic "zeros" and combines with the adjacent octets to violate the DS1 ones density criteria, then it is processed as a violating All-Zero Octet (VAZO). Specifically, the all-zero octet will be declared a VAZO if it combines with its adjacent octets to form a zero-string of 15 zeros or longer, or if either of the adjacent octets contains less than two logic "ones." The octets are proceseed in groups of 96 and are aligned with the DS1 extended superframe (ESF) format superframe. A flag bit is carried in the frame-bit data link of the ESF format and each flag bit is associated with a 96-octet group. The flag-bit indicates whether a VAZO was found in that 96-octet group. An address chain is constructed using octet 96 and the VAZO locations which allows the VAZOs to be identified at the ZBTSI decoder. As a result of the encoding process, the octets adjacent to every VAZO form a signature around the VAZO.
In accordance with the present invention, a technique is provided whereby the aforementioned signature can be utilized to detect transmission channel errors at a ZBTSI decoder.
Also in accordance with the present invention is the utilization of the aforementioned error detection technique in an optimum partial error correction arrangement to increase the robustnsss of the known ZBTSI coding algorithm by at least a factor of four for random input data and by a greater factor when the input data is a steady logic "zero" or a steady string of "ones."
A novel ZBTSI decoder using the optimum partial error correction technique of the present invention is also described.